Travel

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Unexpected Antarctica

Far from being a wasteland of ice and snow, the world's most remote region is alive with history, color and life

Electric towing locomotives guide the Astral Ace through the Pedro Miguel Locks. Says lockmaster Dagoberto Del Vasto, who began as a janitor and has worked at the canal for 22 years, of Panama's four-year stewardship of it: "I am very, very, very proud."

Panama Rises

The Central American nation, now celebrating its centennial, has come into its own since the United States ceded control of its vital waterway

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Vieques on the Verge

The Navy is gone; the bombing has stopped. What happens to Puerto Rico's Vieques now?

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Little Shop Around the Coroner

The Los Angeles County Morgue sells ghoulish souvenirs for a good cause

Dear Santa

The world's most heartfelt wishes find their way to a post office near Rovaniemi, Finland

The compass has a symbolic importance transcending its utility.

Useful Gadget

The legendary explorers carried destiny on their expedition. But they could not have fulfilled is without this unprepossessing device

View of Downtown Dubai

Dazzling Dubai

The Persian Gulf kingdom has embraced openness and capitalism. Might other Mideast nations follow?

"In these fields and lanes," says author Michael Parfit of the Coast to Coast walk, "the past seemed close enough to touch, as if seen in a pool of clear water. And in a way we did touch it, because we shared its means of travel." The countryside outside Keld (above), in Yorkshire Dales National Park, is one of the most evocative lengths of the two-week trek.

A Walk Across England

In the 1970s, British accountant Alfred Wainwright linked back roads, rights-of-way and ancient footpaths to blaze a trail across the sceptered isle

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Greener Pastures

Some things do get better

A handful of residents (including Claire and Bill Hale) still summer on Peddock's. The couple, passionate advocates of the island's tranquil beauties want the park service to preserve at least one cottage as a museum.

Shore Thing

In the new Boston Harbor Islands national park area, city dwellers can escape the madding crowds

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Korea: A House Divided

Fifty years after the armistice, the two Koreas' legacy of conflict underlies a deepening crisis

Naturalist and writer Burroughs (above, left, with conservationist Muir) fretted that he was "the most ignorant man" aboard ship.

North to Alaska

In 1899, railroad magnate Edward Harriman invited preeminent scientists in America to join him on a working cruise to Alaska, then largely unexplored

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Southern Comfort

Traveling back roads, brothers Matt and Ted Lee track down authentic foods for mail-order customers hankering after a taste of the Deep South

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World Class

Smithsonian associates circle the globe for fun and firsthand adventure

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Man in the Middle

Travels with Kofi Annan

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Spooky

Close encounters from Burma to pre-Civil War Manhattan

The 14th-century Medersa Bou Inania, Fés.

Dreams in the Desert

The allure of Morocco, with its unpredictable mix of exuberance and artistry, has seduced adventurous travelers for decades

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On the Road

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Auto-Mated

A curious bond often develops on the road. Very curious

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Whales on Mountaintops

A great fossil find high in the Chilean Andes began with a delayed flight in New York City and ended with a horseback ride from hell

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